Performance of optical space shift keying under jamming.

In this paper, the effect of jamming in a free-space optical (FSO) communication system that employs optical space shift keying (OSSK) is studied. The optical link suffers from saturated atmospheric turbulence (AT). Hence, the channel fading coefficients follow negative exponential probability density function (PDF). Along with additive Gaussian noise, the jammer, under consideration, is an additional source of noise, and jamming signals also suffer from saturated AT. Thus, the jamming channel also follows the negative exponential PDF. A multiple-input single-output (MISO) FSO system is used to mitigate the effects of jammer and channel fading. Explicitly, we employ a 2×1 MISO-OSSK system for analysis and derive a closed-form expression of bit error rate (BER) of the considered system. Moreover, the jammer's effect is also studied numerically under the gamma-gamma (GG) fading channel.

Quality of Life of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients before and after Primary Treatment.

Background: HNSCC (head and neck squamous cell carcinoma) is a serious global health problem, with estimated more than 550,000 new cases and 300,000 deaths annually. More than 90% of these malignancies are oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Materials and Methods: Patients selected were asked to fill the detailed structured case history proforma and thorough clinical examination, structured, pre-designed, pre-evaluated (UW-QOL) UW Questionnaire version 4 on quality of life (QOL) of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients containing thirteen subjective questionnaires and three global questionnaires. All the patients of OSCC after one month (1 month) of radiation and chemotherapy were assessed for quality of life by questionnaire. Result: Post-treatment QOL assessment of OSCC patients reveals a number of problems such as chewing, swallowing, saliva, lack of activity, and mood disturbances. Preoperative clinical features including tumor site, tumor stage, and extent of mouth opening have a significant impact on post-treatment problems in different ways. Conclusion: The need to balance clinician's need and use of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) data against patient's burden should be considered in the selection process.

Evaluation of salivary DNA obtained from dental prosthesis and its applicability in forensic investigations.

AIM: This study evaluated the salivary DNA obtained from dental prosthesis after a period of storage and its applicability in human identification. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In first phase, DNA was extracted after a span of 1 week and 1 month from the dental prosthesis dipped in whole saliva for 15 min. It was followed by PCR and electrophoresis. In second phase, from extracted DNA samples 15 STRs (short tandem repeats) of human genomic DNA were amplified via polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: DNA isolated from saliva stained dental prosthesis after a period of storage and the techniques employed are adequate for further forensic analysis.

Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of Buccal Mucosa: A Rare Case Report.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a malignant neoplasm most commonly originating in salivary glands of head and neck region. Among intra oral adenoid cystic carcinoma, buccal mucosa is among the rarest sites. We report a case of adenoid cystic of buccal mucosa in a 40-year old female. We have discussed the clinical features, histopathology, diagnosis and treatment along with a brief review of the relevant literature. Although the buccal mucosa is an uncommon site for adenoid cystic carcinoma, the relatively indolent growth pattern of this case and its location which is rather atypical for this type of salivary gland malignancy primarily warrants the necessity behind reporting of this case. Secondly, adenoid cystic carcinoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of mass of buccal mucosa. It is important to identify such cases rather early and surgical removal with adequate margins is the treatment of choice .

Epithelioid hemangioma of lingual alveolar mucosa: an immunohistochemical case report.

Epithelioid hemangioma is a rare benign vascular lesion that presents as a nodular lesion in the skin of head and neck region. It is a superficial vascular entity which can either be due to tumor or reactive lesion, but the exact etiology is still unknown. We hereby present a rare case which has been reported with the history of small nodular-like growth on mandibular buccal and lingual area. The excisional biopsy was performed and tissue was submitted for histopathological diagnosis. The immunohistochemistry was performed to check the expression of CD31 marker which proved that origin of epithelioid cells was vascular.

Association of cytokine gene polymorphisms with oral lichen planus in Malayalam-speaking ethnicity from South India (Kerala).

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic mucocutaneous condition that affects the oral mucous membrane as well as skin. It is a chronic cell-mediated autoimmune condition where the T-cell-mediated immune response plays an important part in the pathogenesis by causing damage to basal keratinocytes in oral mucosa. Cytokine gene polymorphisms have an unquestionable role in the orchestration of the immune response, leading to different functional scenarios, which in turn influence the outcome of the disease establishment and evolution. The purpose of this study was to understand the role of these cytokine gene polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), and IL-6 genes with OLP in 101 individuals of Malayalam-speaking ethnicity from South India (Kerala). We further investigated the role of these polymorphisms in patients suffering from OLP with other comorbid factors. Genotyping was carried out by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The results demonstrate that the A allele in the TNF-α -308 polymorphism could play an important role in the susceptibility to OLP. IL-1ß +3954 in OLP was associated with other comorbid factors in both allelic and genotypic combinations. However, when patients suffering from OLP were stratified to understand the involvement of other comorbid factors, we observed that the T and C alleles were independent risk factors for chronic periodontitits and diabetes mellitus. On the other hand, IL-6 -597 did not show any disease association with OLP in the study population. This study indicates that proinflammatory cytokines are an important factor in understanding the disease burden of OLP and their comorbid factors.

Biosafe alternative to xylene: A comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Xylene in one of the non-substitutable chemical used in histology laboratories. However, it is known to have many toxic effects. The toxic effects of xylene include heart and kidney injuries, some fatal blood dyscrasia and other less dangerous problems, such as skin erythema, drying, scaling and secondary infections. The exposure and handling of xylene is maximum during deparaffinizing tissue sections. AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of 1.7% dishwashing soap (DWS) solution as a deparaffinizing agent for hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) staining and compare it with xylene. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty sections of 4 µm were obtained from 30 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues and were considered in two different groups, groups A and B. Slides in group A were stained with routine H and E staining procedure; whereas, slides in group B were stained using 1.7% DWS as a deparaffinizing agent. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was used to calculate the test of significance (P-value significant at ≤0.05). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: 1.7% DWS was found to be an effective alternative deparaffinizing agent to xylene and meanwhile facilitating as less biohazardous, economical and a faster deparaffinizing agent.